American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in Healthcare

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in Health Information Technology

Jennifer Newsome

Southern New Hampshire University

1/10/2016

There are many laws and regulations that impact healthcare. One of the key laws passed not so long ago was the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). ARRA directly impacts healthcare and health information technology. ARRA has several key components that drives the way health organizations collect, compile and deliver health information, as well as push organizations to implement electronic systems as at accelerated rate. ARRA has provided driving factors to create several offices of service to ensure an improvement in patient care and safety and reduce healthcare waste and mismanagement of funds. ARRA will be discussed as it relates to Meaningful Use requirements, impacts on the patient and healthcare organization, overall data collection and storage, and its benefits and detriments on the organizations that must comply with these rules.

Why is ARRA so pertinent to the healthcare sector? ARRA was signed into law by Congress on February 17, 2009 (Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Programs, 2015). ARRA is an act that was written to help aid the US economy by including tax relief, unemployment benefit and social welfare provisions, and increase spending in education, healthcare, and infrastructure (ARRA Economic Stimulus Package, 2016). ARRA allocated approximately 149 billion dollars or one-fifth to healthcare, and 19.2 billion to further health information technologies (Bildsten & Vanselow, 2009).

How does this act impact healthcare and health information technology? It has impacts on the patient, the healthcare organization, and how health information technology is utilized in these areas. According to Health Services Research, the government established a Committee on the Quality of Health Care in America to identify areas in which health care could improve (Ortiz & Clancy, 2003). They identified...